Hollow Knight Silksong Wiki

Hollow Knight: Silksong Delayed!

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About HK:S ♦ Hornet ♦ Patch Notes ♦ Controls ♦ Combat ♦ DLC ♦ FAQ

Abilities ♦ Tools ♦ Crests ♦ Upgrades ♦ Items

Locations ♦ Maps ♦ NPCs ♦ Merchants ♦ Bosses ♦ Enemies ♦ Lore ♦ Quests

New Player Help ♦ Walkthrough ♦ Trophy and Achievement Guide

What is Hollow Knight: Silksong?

Hollow Knight: Silksong is the sequel to the critically acclaimed Hollow Knight, an Action-Adventure game that very successfully melds elements of the Metroidvania genre with the challenge and mechanics of the Soulslike genre. The original Hollow Knight featured a large world with vast, interconnected areas and sub-locations that tell an intriguing tale of loss and ruin. Played from a 2D side-scrolling perspective with an emphasis on exploration, Hollow Knight combined tight platforming, item and ability-based progression with smooth, precise combat that had the punishing difficulty made popular by the Dark Souls franchise.

Hollow Knight: Silksong follows closely in the footsteps of the original Hollow Knight, but takes the adventure from the dreary kingdom of Hallownest to the distant kingdom of Pharloom. This sequel stars Hornet, a fan favorite who played a significant role in the original game. Players assume the role of Hornet as she is abducted and awakens in far from her homeland. Alone and in unfamiliar lands, she must battle foes, seek out allies, and solve mysteries as she ascends on a deadly pilgrimage to the kingdom’s peak. Bound by her lineage and guided by echoes of her past, Hornet will adventure through mossy grottos, coral forests and shining citadels to unravel a deadly thread that threatens this strange new land of Pharloom.

Hollow Knight: Silksong retains the core gameplay mechanics and features of Hollow Knight, while telling an entirely new story across new and perilous locations. With Hornet at the helm as a much more nimble protagonist compared to The Knight, Silksong ramps up the action with Hornet's arsenal of ninja-like lethal acrobatic maneuvers, along with her trusty Needle and silken powers. Highly challenging Boss fights are set to make a return, as Hornet comes across the most powerful and dangerous of Pharloom's inhabitants, set on hindering her progress at every turn. Embracing the tried and true Metroidvania formula, Hollow Knight: Silksong and the kingdom of Pharloom will incorporate a myriad of secrets to uncover in every corner, many of which will require the acquisition of special abilities for Hornet, as well as astute observational skills and a heart for adventure and discovery.

Embark on the next chapter in the Hollow Knight universe. Return to the world of bugs and heroes, journey to all-new lands, discover new powers, battle vast hordes of creatures and beasts, and uncover ancient secrets tied to your nature and your past.

Hollow Knight: Silksong Key Gameplay Features

Discover a vast, haunted kingdom in Hollow Knight: Silksong! The sequel to the award winning action-adventure. Explore, fight and survive as you ascend to the peak of a land ruled by silk and song. As Hornet, princess-protector of Hallownest, adventure through a whole new kingdom known as Pharloom. Captured and brought to this unfamiliar land, Hornet must battle foes and solve mysteries as she ascends on a deadly pilgrimage to the kingdom’s peak.

• Discover a whole new kingdom! Explore coral forests, mossy grottos, gilded cities and misted moors as you ascend to the shining citadel at the top of the world.
• Engage in lethal acrobatic action! Wield a whole new suite of nimble moves as you dance between foes in deadly, beautiful combat.
• Craft powerful tools! Master an ever-expanding arsenal of weapons, traps, and mechanisms to confound your enemies and explore new heights.
• Solve shocking quests! Hunt down rare beasts, unearth ancient mysteries and search for lost treasures to fulfil the wishes of the downtrodden and restore the kingdom’s hope. Prepare for the unexpected!
• Face over 150 all-new foes! Beasts and hunters, assassins and kings, monsters and knights - you must defeat them all with bravery and skill!
• Experience a stunning orchestral score! Hollow Knight’s award-winning composer, Christopher Larkin, returns to bring melancholy melodies, symphonic strings and heart-thumping, soul strumming boss themes to the adventure.
• Challenge Silk Soul mode! Once you conquer the game, test your skills in an all-new mode that spins the game into a unique, challenging experience.

Hollow Knight Silksong Release Details
Initial Release Date	TBC
Platforms	PC (Steam, GOG, Humble Store), Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X | S, and PlayStation®5.
Game Price	TBC
Developer/s	Team Cherry
Publisher/s	Team Cherry
Genre	Single-Player Action Adventure, Metroidvania
Hollow Knight Silksong Demo Release Details
Live Demo/Beta	TBA

Hollow Knight Silksong System Requirements

Recommended Requirements

• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: Intel Core i5
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: GeForce GTX 560+
• DirectX: Version 10
• Storage: 9 GB available space
• Additional Notes: 1080p, 16:9 recommended

Minimum Requirements

• OS: Windows 7
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E5200
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: GeForce 9800GTX+ (1GB)
• DirectX: Version 10
• Storage: 9 GB available space
• Additional Notes: 1080p, 16:9 recommended

The Environment

Pharloom has a wide range of different environments with different colors and atmospheres that give different mechanics on traveling as well. Moss Grotto is the bottom of Pharloom where Hornet starts her journey is already a bright area with its bright green moss and darker tones seen in the background. The Deep Docks displays a bright orange with the lava and the ashy tones of the bone platforms along with a faded yellow and orange background to go along with it. In the Coral Forest it replicates the corals in the ocean with its bright and dark tones of pink and cyan. Greymoor shows a more darker but warmer shades of grey with a touch of falling silk for the atmosphere. Lastly, the bronze and the black tones bring out the seriousness of the environment. There are many more locations that players have yet to see.

Traveling

Since Hornet is very agile and acrobatic, she moves a lot faster than The Knight. Hornet can use the environment as well as her tools to get through different areas of the game in each location. She can perform a silk dash that is similar to The Knight's Shade Cloak, she is also able to wall jump like The Knight as well. Hornet can sprint, lunge off of enemies upon sprinting at them, perform wall jumps and even hold onto ledges to get over them. She is also able to use her needle as a form of a grappling hook to move to different locations on the map. Apart from her own traveling techniques, there are also elevators and air flows that allow Hornet to go upwards towards The Citadel or lower onto different areas.

Facing Enemies

Hornet has a more acrobatic combat style compared to The Knight in Hollow Knight. As for the enemies, in Hollow Kight, they are easier to face whereas in Hollow Knight: Silksong it's a bit more different. Enemies will have armor and weapons that will make it harder for players to encounter but Hornet's abilities will let players easily encounter different types of enemies. Hornet will also be able to interact with enemies' attacks, such as if they throw a flaming ball at her, she can parry it back towards the enemies.

Hornet's Acrobatic Skills

Hornet's movement differs from The Knight. Unlike him, Hornet moves more faster and fluidly. She can perform different kinds of aerial movements while she's attacking, such as fast lunges, flips, faster parries, and faster healing, on top of that, more special attacks. She can also sprint faster, lunge backward and perform quick dashes. One of her movesets is that while she is running, she can perform a dash attack and this will lunge her into the air.

Mask Shards

Mask Shards make a return from Hollow Knight, as a form of upgrading Hornet's health. By collecting 4, it will add to the upper left line of masks that shows her health units. Collecting more mask shards will then increase Hornet's health throughout the game.

Currencies

The currencies in Pharloom are Shell Shards and Rosaries. Upon death, Hornet will lose her rosaries, but getting them strung on Rosary Strings will benefit players as the loose Rosaries will not be lost. Unlike Shell Shards, they won't be lost upon death. Upon death, Hornet will lose all her silk and will need to recover it at her point of death which is in the shape of a cocoon, destroying it will recover her silk spool.

Crests

Creates in Hollow Knight Silk Song are upgrades in the upper left of the screen such as her spool length and the icon next to her health units. It is still unsure how to upgrade her crests but it can be seen that her silk spool length can increase and her Crest changes over time through upgrades. Doing so will also give her different animations in her skills and possibly give her more attack skills, as you upgrade the Crests it can hold more and more tools for Hornet to utilize in combat.

Upgrading and Expanding

Hornet can head over to Forge-Daughter to upgrade and expand her tools. There are three types of tools such as red, yellow, and blue activation tools for Hornet to use. It is speculated that the Rosaries are used to pay for the upgrades or expansions to her tools, as well as other materials needed, as seen in her dialogs with Forge-Daughter. Shell Shards can be picked up after defeating most enemies and is used to replenish the spent tools when Hornet encounters a bench that she can sit on to rest.

Red Tools

These red tools are activation tools that can be slotted into different Crests and can be used in battle with enemies or bosses. Some of her red tools could either have single upgrades or multiple upgrades. 

Blue Tools

The blue tools can also be slotted onto Hornet's Crests but do not appear in the upper left hud. So it is speculated that the blue tools are more for her passive abilities.

Yellow Tools

The yellow tools can also be slotted onto Hornet's Crest and also do not appear in the upper left hud. The symbol appears to be a compass, so it is speculated that it is not a tool for any offensive or passive abilities.

Lace

Lace will appear as a boss at first and later as an NPC. However, she tries to prevent Hornet from ascending to the citadel with the group she works with. She can later be seen in the Deep Docks where she is conducting a small group of glowing bugs, the same glowing bug that freed Hornet from the cage.

Seth

Seth guards some secret bases of the Citadel with an unknown entity inside that he calls " The Voice", and is a deadly sentinel to encounter. He carries a pin as a sword and uses a cymbal as a shield and is quite a strong opponent to go up against.

Sharpe

Sharpe is actually created by some content backers on the kickstarter that is an assassin and uses his nose as a weapon. He also has two accomplices whom have never been seen yet.

Last Judge

The Last Judge is a larger boss that Hornet will encounter. He carries a large bell that he uses as a weapon and in the arena where players will be battling him, he is able to summon large pillars of flames from below so players will need to dodge those.

Tribbio

Tribbio seems to be a butterfly, he can be seen in the first trailer of Hollow Knight: Silk Song. He could be another boss like Lace where you will need to fight him often or could possibly be a friend at some point of the story.

Carmelita

Carmelita is an operatic Hunter Queen, who has a similar fighting style with Seth and Lace. Fast, strong and just as agile as Hornet herself. 

Moss Mother

Moss Mother is the replacement of Gruz Mother in Hollow Knight. Moss Mother is more aggressive when moving and attacking Hornet. There could be some differences seen in the demo compared to how she will be in the full release.

More Bosses to be added soon!

Churchkeeper

At the first encounter, the Churchkeeper can be seen wearing a cloak with a staff and will momentarily subdue Hornet but will later help guide her and introduce the environment Hornet is in and the dangers of Pharloom.

Sherma

Sherma can be seen wearing a cymbal and a cloak. Sherma is a little pilgrim who is on their spiritual journey through Pharloom and can help Hornet get to her destination whenever they encounter her.

Garmond and Zaza

Garmond can be seen with a long greying mustache holding a sword and riding on a little bug called Zaza. They sometimes appear in battle to aid Hornet in her miniboss fights.

The Caravan

The Caravan in Pharloom are the alternative of the Grubfather in Hallownest. Some can be found while on your journey around different towns in Pharloom finding "something precious" or what they call a "humble wish". Rescue the little fleas so they can make their way back to The Caravan.

Shakra

Shakra is the game's cartographer. She will start as an ally to Hornet but could potentially become an opponent later on in the game. To find her, players will have to follow the remnants of the chakram of her battles, instead of the paper trails back in Hollow Knight. 

Forge-Daughter

She is the large bug with armor and a bell for a helmet that acts as the blacksmith for Hornet, creating her weapons to defeat other bugs and Bosses. The Forge-Daughter may have a connection to the royalty of Pharloom as she refers to herself as the Royal We.

Ballow 

He is the trusty helper of the Forge-Daughter. The dialogs Ballow has with the Forge-Daughter suggest that they are the only ones who still have a sense of themselves while in the Deep Docks. If players ring Ballow's bell that he wears on his head, players can see Forge-Daughter laughing at the side.

Grindle

Grindle can be seen holding a sack over his shoulder and is in captivity when first encountered. Upon freeing Grindle, players can give him the Pharloom currency: Rosaries, in return for information

Huntress

In the first encounter with the Huntress, she'll ask for Hornet's flesh. Speculated to be an alternate to the Hunter in Hollow Knight.

Bell Beast

The first encounter with the Bell Beast starts as an enemy and will be seen in cacoon silk but later will become an ally to Hornet upon being freed and will act as her form of transportation in Pharloom.

When is the Release Date for Silksong?

While originally planned for a release in 2023, Hollow Knight: Silksong has unfortunately been delayed. Team Cherry partner Matthew Griffin who is in charge of marketing and PR announced via Twitter on May 10, 2023 that while they had planned for to release during the first half of 2023, development is still continuing and that the game had "gotten quite big", and the team has therefore decide to take the time to make the game as good as it can be.

What Platforms will Silksong be available on?

Hollow Knight: Silksong will be made available on all current platforms including PC (Windows, Mac, Linux), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X | S. While it was formerly slated for release on PlayStation 4 as well, the platform's logo appears to have been removed from the website and it is unclear if the game will still make the platform.

What kind of game is Silksong?

Hollow Knight: Silksong is a single-player Action Adventure/Metroidvania title played from a 2D side-scrolling perspective, borrowing elements from the Dark Souls franchise and similar titles when it comes to its combat. It takes place in a world of bugs, with a rich history and a deadly mystery that threatens the land. Despite its cutesy appearance and aesthetics, Hollow Knight: Silksong and its predecessor Hollow Knight tell a deep story of loss and ruin, with mature themes that display the ugly nature hidden beneath the beautiful exterior of the world's locations and inhabitants. The original Hollow Knight is famous for its deceptively simplistic appearance, masking incredibly complex and precise gameplay elements that permeate its exploration, platforming and punishing combat. Silksong is set to follow in the footsteps of its predecessor, retaining core gameplay features while expanding on them with new locations, characters, enemies, bosses and a new protagonist.

Is Silksong a Soulslike title?

Hollow Knight: Silksong, like the original Hollow Knight feature Soulslike elements, particularly when it comes to combat. Encounters in Silksong are fast-paced, punishing and demand skill, strategy and mastery of various gameplay mechanics, as well as learning enemy behavior patterns and how best to counter them. Boss battles are highly involved and require precision and split-second reactions to overcome. Silksong and Hollow Knight also share a similar death mechanic to the Dark Souls games where dying causes the protagonist to lose resources, returning them to the last checkpoint visited in a weakened state with one chance to return to their point of death to reclaim their resources and return to full power. Failure to do so will result in the permanent loss of the resources accrued at the time of death.

Will Silksong feature multiple endings?

The original Hollow Knight featured a rich story with multiple endings depending on the actions of the player, and the majority of them could be acquired in a single playthrough. Given Hollow Knight: Silksong is set to follow original closely, it is very likely that the game will feature multiple endings as well.

Ari Gibson

Ari is the co-founder of Team Cherry.  He is an award-winning animation director and has worked in numerous creative fields across games, film and advertising. He previously ran the acclaimed 2D animation studio Mechanical Apple. Ari's been modding games from before computers were colour and has loved them since his first ever game rental: Faxanadu for NES.

Ari is responsible for game design alongside William. He creates the game’s art, environments and animates all the weird and wonderful bugs you will meet in Silksong.

William Pellen

Willam has been designing and building games for years, and is co-founder of Team Cherry. He loves to create silly little worlds for people to poke around in and explore. He’s been enraptured with games ever since his Dad found the wing boots for him in Zelda 2, and wants to recreate that experience of adventure and excitement for other people.

William designs the game along with Ari. He creates the enemy, boss and game behaviour for Silksong. If any enemy seems too challenging or a gauntlet insurmountable, blame him!

Jack Vine

Jack is Silksong’s supremely talented coder. Jack’s been building out the systems for Silksong, tightening and optimising and adding a suite of all new exciting features. Jack has worked with Team Cherry for some time now, being instrumental in Hollow Knight’s console releases and the development of its huge final free Content Pack Godmaster.

Christopher Larkin

Chris is a highly accomplished composer for feature film, television and video games. He’s the co-creator of the excellent narrative puzzler Expand and provided the score for the acclaimed Pac-Man 256. Chris is based in Adelaide, Australia.

For Hollow Knight: Silksong, Chris is continuing in the exquisite, melancholic style he developed on Hollow Knight, providing both its sound effects and its epic original score.

Matthew ‘Leth’ Griffin

Continuing his role from Hollow Knight, Matt will be handling PR and marketing for the game in the lead-up to release and during the post-launch window. In the past, Matt’s also handled release for hit titles like Stardew Valley, Interstellaria and Wanderlust Adventures. Matt is also a legit game creator, working as the main coder for Wanderlust and the online-multiplayer coder for procedural platformer Risk of Rain.